cardigan

What it means

1. A type of sweater or jumper that fastens up the front with buttons or a zipper, usually machine- or hand-knitted from wool.

   […] a coarsely knit white cardigan and a black turban whose broadened tails could be arranged around her neck scarfwise.

   1992, Norman Rush, Mating

   2 more examples

   Suzette Sundae, a musician wearing a fifties-style swing dress and a white cardigan over her tattoos, said that she ran a vintage-clothing store in Park Slope. When the store’s traffic fell off, she had Airbnb-ed her home.

   2017 May 8, Nathan Heller, “Is the Gig Economy Working?”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2018

   “I love that loungewear has become a prevailing new category,” said Barbara Lippert, 65, a writer. “During the worst part of the pandemic even jeans seemed like an overreach, requiring that complex button and zipper action. And cardigans were too much work.”

   2022 April 12, Rhonda Garelick, “Am I Done Suffering for Fashion?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Jun 2022

In a sentence

[…] a coarsely knit white cardigan and a black turban whose broadened tails could be arranged around her neck scarfwise.

1992, Norman Rush, Mating

Where it comes from

Named after British military commander James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797–1868). For the surname, see Cardigan.